Neal Marder Quoted by Bloomberg on California Crackdown on “Cozy” Class-Action Settlements

Bloomberg has quoted Akin Gump litigation partner Neal Marder in the article “Lawyer ‘Rackets’ Spur Judges to Nix More Cozy Class-Action Deals.” The article reports that federal judges in California are cracking down on unusual incentives in class-action lawsuits, thereby exerting tighter oversight of settlements.

Those settlements, according to the article, often provide large fees for plaintiff lawyers, but no meaningful benefit for those harmed by corporate misdeeds. The article adds that new court guidelines in San Francisco and Silicon Valley require more justification for class-action settlements in California, a state with some of the toughest consumer-protection laws.

“The rules are to ensure that class members are adequately protected,” said Marder. “Lawyers come up with clever ways to settle a case that isn’t always in the best interest of the class.”